A relentless stream of bad luck, negative plays and turnovers washed away all hopes of a first win for Seymour’s football team during a 28-7 defeat to Jeffersonville on Friday night.
To review the list of miscues: Seymour lost four fumbles, suffered two interceptions (one of which came in Jeffersonville’s end zone), had one punt blocked and saw another punt thwarted by a bad snap that resulted in a 17-yard loss and a turnover on downs.
To continue, the Owls also allowed a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and gave up an 80-yard TD run to the Red Devils on the game’s first play from scrimmage.
It was that kind of night for the home team.
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Perhaps most amazingly, the Owls trailed just 14-7 after three quarters of play. Unfortunately, a bewildering fourth quarter, during which Jeffersonville scored two touchdowns in just eight seconds, took the air out of any Seymour hopes for a victory.
The difference-making trouble started when Seymour was forced to punt from its 31 yard line with 10:27 left in the game.
Jeffersonville’s Jalon Cobb broke through the Owls’ line and blocked punter Caleb Elliott’s kick. The irregularly shaped ball managed somehow to bounce perfectly into the hands of Jeff’s Dave Pratt, who ran 11 yards for a touchdown with 10:18 left.
Stunned but still standing, Seymour readied for the ensuing kickoff, only to encounter more bad luck. The Owls’ Drew Schroeder received the kick and returned to ball to the 25 yard line before being hit and coughing the ball up.
This time, Jeffersonville’s Davarhy Julian recovered the ball and ran 18 yards for the score with 10:10 left in the game.
Just like that, an improbably close game was blown open, 28-7, in favor of the Red Devils. The Owls never recovered.
Friday’s loss dropped Seymour to 0-2 on the season (0-1 in Hoosier Hills Conference play). Jeffersonville improved to 1-1 overall and in the HHC.
The weird night and wrong-sided score obscured some improvements by the Owls. After struggling to run the ball against South Dearborn the week before, Seymour opened Friday’s game with 40 rushing yards on its first four carries.
Similarly, quarterback Cody Ruble looked sharp after being chased and harried in Week 1. Against Jeffersonville, Ruble finished with 207 yards on 17-for-27 passing.
Ruble’s favorite target was Schroeder, who fought off a Jeff defender for a 68-yard touchdown reception and ended with 93 yards on four catches. Ryan Elmore and Drew Vehslage each added four catches for 37 yards.